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Two key Dodgers avoid surgery, for now. Will they make full recoveries this year?
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- Two key Dodgers avoid surgery, for now. Will they make full recoveries this year?
When Dalton Rushing and Will Klein initially went down with injuries over the last couple weeks, there was fear they could each need surgery and that their seasons were potentially finished.
On Tuesday afternoon, however, both Dodgers players struck considerably more optimistic tones while discussing their recoveries, holding out hope of making full returns this year without going under the knife.
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"The main worry is getting back on the field for the last however many weeks of the season," said Rushing, the backup catcher who suffered a slight tear to the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.
"I'm gonna do everything I can to get back and pitch again this year," added Klein, the right-handed reliever battling bone spurs/loose bodies in his elbow.
When Dalton Rushing and Will Klein initially went down with injuries over the last couple weeks, there was fear they could each need surgery and that their seasons were potentially finished. CHRIS TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock
"I'm gonna do everything I can to get back and pitch again this year," added Klein, the right-handed reliever battling bone spurs/loose bodies in his elbow. Getty Images
For now, Rushing seems like the slightly safer bet to be back in some form –– though his chances of catching again this season remain up in the air.
While his elbow injury won't preclude him from hitting (he said he has already resumed swinging a bat barely a week removed from going on the IL), the road to regaining full arm strength (a requirement to play behind the dish and throw out base runners) will be a longer one.
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Manager Dave Roberts previously said Rushing would be shut down from throwing for roughly 4-6 weeks, and described the second-year slugger's chances of catching again this year as "very small."
On Tuesday, however, Rushing expressed more confidence in his chances of getting back to 100% in time for the playoffs; grateful that after several rounds of medical evaluations, "we came to an agreement that surgery is not necessary."
Manager Dave Roberts previously said Rushing would be shut down from throwing for roughly 4-6 weeks, and described the second-year slugger's chances of catching again this year as "very small." Getty Images
"We're going to rehab the muscle on the inside of my forearm," said Rushing, who added that while his UCL has been flagged in medical imaging before, he's never actually dealt with an injury in his elbow.
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"The details as to timeline [to return], I don't really have any for you. But at the same time, I can say it feels 10 times better than it did a week ago. And as soon as I can be throwing a baseball, I will be."
If Rushing can't return to catching –– the Dodgers added two other catchers at the trade deadline as insurance , and remain confident that Will Smith will eventually come back from his neck injury –– the former top prospect could still serve as a left-handed bench bat for a right-handed-heavy Dodgers offense down the stretch.
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But first, he is eager to get into a throwing progression, see how his arm responds, and exhaust every effort possible to remain an option behind the plate.
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"If I can throw," he said, "I'm gonna be able to catch."
Klein is also hopeful of being able to throw again this year, even after he was diagnosed with some calcified bone debris in his right elbow.
Klein is also hopeful of being able to throw again this year, even after he was diagnosed with some calcified bone debris in his right elbow. AP Photo/Noah K. Murray
Typically, such injuries require a clean-up procedure –– which in Klein's case, would likely sideline him for the rest of the season.
Since going on the injured list at the start of August, however, Klein said his arm is already feeling "a lot better," with his inflammation subsiding to the point where he can resume a plyoball throwing program in the coming days.
"Try to build back up," Klein said of his plan, "and see where that puts us."
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Klein didn't want to blame all of his recent struggles on his elbow injury (he allowed 13 runs, eight of them earned, in his final six outings before going on the IL). But he acknowledged it had impacted his ability to cleanly finish his throw.
"Some of the 'snap' wasn't there like it had been early on in the year," said Klein, a 2025 World Series hero who had a 2.29 ERA in his first 30 appearances on the season.
His goal now is similar to Rushing's: Rest up, let the injury continue to heal and come back just in time to reclaim their spots on the team's roster.
That's no guarantee. With Klein's status specifically, Roberts said he was "hoping" but "wouldn't say hopeful." But, given where both players were when they first got hurt, it's at least something to cling to.
"We've got two months, at least, of playing baseball," Rushing said. "That's what I'm going to worry about at the moment."
